February, the UNC System Board of Governors gave the system's 16 campuses more flexibility, moving away from a stan- dard of 75 class days per semester estab- lished five years ago. "The Robertson program, I think, really made the case for the campuses try- ing to get more flexibility," said UNC Registrar David Lanier ' 72. It's going to make it a lot better. The new flexibility gives us the ability to match up pretty well [with Duke)." The calendars had been way off, with Carolina sometimes starting two weeks before Duke. The change came a little late for anything but minor tweaking in the 2002-03 calendar, but by the following fall the two should be within a day of each other on either end. "We moved forward a week for fall '03 and they're backing up a week," Lanier said. The spring breaks will match, although Duke still prefers to take its fall break at the beginning of the week, Carolina at the nd. Carolina still will take offstate-man- dated holidays such as Labor Day and Good Friday that Duke doesn't observe. "We absolutely want to align with Duke," Moeser said. Whether and how soon the limits on inter-institutional classes will change is uncertain. Lifting the rule on taking the "same" course at the other school to get a different professor could be easier than changing the one-course-per-semester ule. That's because of the wide tuition difference. As Lanier said, there has to be a provision to prohibit a Carolina student from "basically getting a Duke education at Carolina prices." (The same rule pre- vents students who didn't meet Carolina's admissions standards from getting a Car- olina education by commuting from another school.) Once the logistics are smoother, Thompson said, crossover opportunities will be "expanded exponentially." Once it is possible, it has to be, quote, 'a cool thing to do.'That's where the Robertson model is so important." The Robertson Scholars, who will number 120 by the fourth year, are seen as ice-breakers by virtue of the fact that he program requires them to study on both campuses and to live for one semes- ter on the one from which their degree(919) 929·0077www.hu ..nSCOllSlructiOft.(om S~rvinq th~ (hdP~ 1 Hill Ar~d